Women’s Tennis Lifts Lid with Doubleheader Against LMU and UC San Diego

Game Notes /// Live Stats /// 2024-25 Sun Devil Home Events /// 2025 Spring Schedule

TEMPE – Sun Devil Women's Tennis ushers in a new era under head coach Jamea Jackson with a pair of home matches at Whiteman Tennis Center, taking on LMU at 11 a.m. MT and UC San Diego at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Live stats can be found here for both matches.

Jackson comes from Princeton where she had two round of 32 births with the Tigers in the NCAA tournament and an Ivy League title before joining Arizona State. The former tennis professional replaces legendary head coach Sheila McInerney who announced her retirement after 40 seasons at the helm of the program, who had a 589-350 record with the Sun Devils, ranking 10th in NCAA history. 

The team boasts four returners, senior Patricija Spaka, Emilija Tverijonaite, Sara Svetac and Ada Pietrzynska.

New to the team this season is Karsyn Evans who transferred from Denver, and Aiya Nupbay, a freshman from Kazakhstan. Lily Taylor and Karin Altori all who will make their Sun Devil debuts this season.

SUN DEVIL OUTLOOK:

• In the first tournament of the fall, at the USTA SoCal Intercollegiate Championships, Emilija Tverijonaite won the singles title, only dropping a set in three matches. The doubles pair of Svetac and Spaka won the doubles title.
• The Sun Devils are 9-1 in the last 10 season openers.
• Head coach Jamea Jackson boasts a 33-14 career coaching record entering her first season at Arizona State
• ASU has an 82-10 record against West Coast Conference (WCC) teams and an 34-0 record against Big West schools.
• All six Sun Devils had a winning record during the Fall season, combining for a 47-25 record.
• Sophomore Emilija Tverijonaite had nine straight-set victories during the fall season which led the Sun Devils.
• The Sun Devils have had 36 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, all coming under former head coach Sheila McInerney. The program has had 38 in total.
• Jamea Jackson is only the third head-coach in Sun Devil Women Tennis history in the last 60 years.

OPPONENT OUTLOOK:
LMU (11 a.m.) (0-0):

• LMU went 11-11 last season and fell in the second round of the WCC championships to Pepperdine. The team had two power 4 wins, beating Penn State 4-1 and Indiana 4-0 last March.
• The Lions were picked to finish fourth in the WCC in the preseason poll.
• Stefania Rogozinska-Dzik was named to the WCC Singles All-Conference Team after going 12-7 in singles in 2024.
• Its the fourth all-time meeting between the Lions and the Sun Devils, the first since the 2023 season where ASU came out victorious 7-0. The Sun Devils hold a 4-0 advantage over LMU.

UC San Diego (4 p.m.) (0-0)

• Sebastian Bader enters his second season at the helm of the program. The Triton had two conference wins in the Big West over UC Irvine and UC Riverside.
• The Triton enter their fifth season as a Division I program after finishing the 2023-24 season going 6-17. The Triton open their season Friday against Arizona.
• It's the third all-time matchup between the Triton and the Sun Devils. The maroon and gold hold a 2-0 advantage and marks the third straight year the teams have met.

FEELING 100:
The Sun Devils boast three players in the top-100 in the latest ITA Rankings which came out in the fall, all are sophomores. Emilija Tverijonaite is ranked 24th in the country after being ranked No. 52 at the start of the fall season. Sara Svetac entered the top-50 and is ranked No. 47 entering the Spring. Lastly, sophomore Ada Piestrzynska is No. 97 in the country after going 6-4 in the Fall and going 7-5 in doubles. The Sun Devils are one of two teams (Oklahoma State) in the Big 12 to have at least three players ranked in the top-100 of the ITA rankings, 

MILLIE MAGIC:
Sophomore Emilija Tverijonaite had a successful fall season having a 12-2 record and notching a third place finish at ITA Southwest Regionals which helped her qualify for NCAA Singles Championships. The Lithuanian became the first Sun Devil since 2024 to make the round of 64 and climbed the ITA rankings, entering the Spring season ranked 24th in the country. She also was clutch in three-set matches in the fall, going 3-0 in such matches and having to come from a set down twice to win in three-sets. 

THREE SET STARS:
During the fall season the team showed its clutch gene by going 12-3 in three-set matches. Sara Svetac and Tverijonaite led the team in three-set victories with three wins apiece. Piestrzynska and Evans each had two wins during the fall season. 

2024 Fall Record in 3-set matches
Karsyn Evans: 2-0
Aiya Nupbay: 1-2
No. 97 Ada Piestrzynska: 2-0
Patricija Spaka: 1-0
No. 47 Sara Svetac: 3-1
No. 24 Emilija Tverijonaite: 3-0

NEW CONFERENCE, WHO THIS?
The Sun Devils received votes in the ITA preseason poll announced on January 6, and were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 Conference in the preseason poll announced on Jan. 7. The maroon and gold also picked up a first-place vote. In the first season competing in the Big 12, the Sun Devils boast a 98-23 record against current Big 12 competition. 

LOOKING AHEAD:
Next week the Sun Devils are bound for their first road trip of the season, heading to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to play in the ITA Kickoff Weekend. They'll face Wisconsin next Friday at a time to be announced, then play either No. 6 North Carolina or Alabama on Saturday.

HOW TO FOLLOW:
Continue to follow Sun Devil Women's Tennis on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook for all the latest coverage this season. Fans can follow on live stats which can be found here.